Overview

Overview

WWE: THE DIGITAL AND SOCIAL ENTERTAINMENT LEADER

More than 100,000 of the WWE Universe attended WrestleMania 32 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas in April 2016. The event was the most socially discussed event in WWE history.

In the world of WWE, the show doesn’t end once the final bell rings. The conflicts and controversies continue across WWE’s digital media platforms, which operate 24/7.

Our WWE Digital and Social Media teams are comprised of a 50-person group of editors, producers, designers and photographers creating content for WWE’s flagship website and App, WWE’s hugely popular YouTube channel and 250-plus social media channels for WWE and its Superstars on a daily basis.

And when WWE’s shows end on cable, the entertainment continues on WWE Network, WWE’s over-the-top streaming video network with 1.5 million subscribers worldwide. Subscribers can access more than 6,000 hours of on-demand in-ring action, as well as cutting-edge original series and documentaries about WWE Hall of Famers and the company’s rich history.

With team members based in Stamford, Conn., New York City, Dubai, Germany and Mexico, as well as traveling team members visiting arenas across the globe year-round, our social producers have the rare ability to shoot a video at a WWE Live Event in London, send it back to Connecticut and post it to WWE’s multiple digital and social platforms in a matter of minutes to a majority of WWE's more than 727 million combined social media followers across 14 platforms.

It’s this seamless integration that has made our Social and Digital Teams the industry leader.

WWE ON YOUTUBE

With six hours of original televised programming each week, WWE's YouTube channel allows our worldwide fan base to catch up on match highlights, and enjoy original content and series from their favorite WWE Superstars.

The WWE YouTube channel's original content and series allows the WWE Universe to see Superstars and Divas in new ways, and allows WWE to extend evolving storylines to a second medium. This is in addition to the hours of WWE TV episode highlights added to the channel every month.

This amazing curated collection of action, comedy, variety and sports-entertainment history has made WWE on YouTube one of the platform's most-subscribed-to, most-viewed sports, entertainment and variety channels, with more than 10 billion video views in the past 12 months alone.

YOUTUBE RESULTS FOR 2016

WWE received YouTube's Diamond Play Button award in 2016 for reaching the 10 million subscribers mark.

With more than 6 billion video views and more than 13.9 billion viewed minutes of video in 2016, WWE is the No. 1 Sports channel on YouTube ahead of the NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL, ESPN and NASCAR.

In addition, WWE on YouTube has more than 13.7 million subscribers, which is more than MLB, NHL, ESPN, NASCAR, MLS and NBC Sports' YouTube channels COMBINED. YouTube honored WWE with its coveted Diamond Play button, as a channel with more than 10 million subscribers earlier this year.

Our video content is highly engaging, as our channel viewers left more than 3.9 million comments on our videos in 2016, with more than 51 million likes, and 4.1 million shares of our videos during the year, which had an impressive average watch time of 2 minutes, 19 seconds.

WWE on YouTube is frequently ranked among the Top 10 most-viewed U.S.-based channels on YouTube, according to monthly rankings from TubeFilter.

WWE NETWORK

Once again, WWE has created a new way to engage fans with an extraordinary value proposition by strategically delivering WWE’s premium live content directly to fans in more than 180 countries with WWE Network, the first-ever 24/7 direct-to-consumer network delivered directly to fans through over-the-top digital distribution.

The popularity of WWE Network's content and affordable subscription model has paved the way for WWE Network subscribers increasing 24% from the third quarter 2015 to a record 1.46 million average paid subscribers over the third quarter 2016.

In the third quarter, WWE Network subscription revenue also increased 18% to $42.8 million from $36.4 million in the prior year quarter.

The success of the WWE Network thus far illustrates the power of the WWE brand, showcases WWE’s potential to drive long-term growth and provide evidence that we are effectively executing our multi-platform content strategy. WWE is on pace to add more than 300 hours of original content to the network’s featured programming in 2016, and more than 2,500 hours of archival content , which would result in an on-demand library of more than 7,000 hours at year-end. -- more than four times the amount of content hours (1,500) when the network started in 2014.

NETWORK RESULTS FOR 2016

WWE Network reached a record 1.82 million total subscribers following WrestleMania (April 4). During WrestleMania Week, WWE Network featured 19 hours of prime-time, premier programming, and subscribers watched nearly 22 million hours of content, averaging 12 hours per subscriber. This is a 39% increase from March 30, 2015, the day after WrestleMania last year.

According to a 2016 Parks Associates study, WWE Network has the second highest “Net Promoter Score (NPS)” among major OTT video services in the U.S., only behind Netflix – WWE has the second highest rating for subscribers likely to recommend the service. An NPS that is positive (i.e. higher than zero) is felt to be good, and an NPS of +50 is excellent. WWE comes in around +30 and Netflix is at approximately +40.

WWE ON FACEBOOK

With more than 34.8 million likes, WWE’s Facebook Page (http://fb.me/WWE) acts as a central nervous system for the WWE Universe, and the flagship for WWE's network of more than 120 Facebook Pages, with a combined following of 455 million total combined likes -- up 17% year-over-year.

WWE's network of Facebook Pages offers breaking news, video highlights, insightful articles on favorite Superstars, polling, contests and much more -- making it a must-follow for any WWE fan.

FACEBOOK STRATEGY AND EXECUTION

Frequently, WWE Superstars will use Facebook Live during the live broadcast of WWE Raw and WWE SmackDown Live to give the WWE Universe another view of the action airing live on USA Network. Here, Cesaro would rather talk to fans on Facebook Live than support his contentious tag team partner Sheamus. (WATCH)

The goal of WWE’s flagship Facebook Page is to offer one location for all of a WWE fan’s needs, but our network of Pages provides the Facebook user more opportunity to define their news feed with information on their favorite specific Superstars and WWE TV programs by following the appropriate Facebook Page in the network.

If our Facebook followers want the latest exclusive backstage photos and news from 15-time World Champion John Cena, they can join the 42.9 million followers of Cena's Facebook page (http://fb.me/johncena), the most-followed Facebook Page for any active American athlete. There, our Social Media Producers work with Cena to provide the best candid shots from Cena's Instagram, plus photos and videos from his latest matches, updates on his newest merchandise and his entertainment endeavors outside the ring.

Want a preview of tonight's live WWE Monday Night Raw or SmackDown Live episode? Follow WWE Raw or SmackDown Live's Page on Facebook for the latest highlights, Facebook Live-streamed pre-show and main event happenings.

Want to talk to your favorite Superstar and ask them a question? Join an exclusive Facebook Live session on that Superstar's Facebook Page and get inside their mind as they travel the world to our 320 Live Events a year. WWE broadcast more than 58 hours of Facebook Live content on our WWE shows' and Superstars' Pages.

Before she competed at a non-televised WWE Live Event in Chicago, new WWE Superstar Bayley held a Facebook Live Q&A from the locker room, giving WWE Facebook Page followers a glimpse of her preparation routine. (Click image to watch video)

In all, WWE's Facebook Page network allows our worldwide fan base to get the latest updates in the way they choose, from the WWE news sources they prefer, in both an informative and entertaining way via content and updates curated by the WWE Social Media team and the WWE Superstars themselves via Facebook Mentions.

FACEBOOK RESULTS FOR 2016

WWE has more than 455 million followers on its network of Facebook Pages -- an annual increase of 17.5% from 2015.

John Cena is the most-followed active American athlete on Facebook, with 42.9 million followers. He is the 6th most-followed athlete in the world on Facebook. He has more followers than any athlete in NFL, MLB, NHL, NASCAR, PGA, NBA or UFC.

27 of the Top 100 most followed athletes on Facebook are WWE Superstars. Four of the Top 10 most followed female athletes on Facebook are WWE Superstars. (source: FanPageList.com).

49 WWE Superstars have more than 1 million followers on Facebook.

WWE's main Facebook Page had more than 2.44 billion video views in 2016, which included more than 58 hours of Facebook Live content (this does not include our hours of Facebook Live-streamed pre-shows for WWE Raw, SmackDown Live and pay-per-view WWE Network events). .

WWE ON TWITTER

With 155 million combined Twitter followers,WWE on Twitter acts the main source of breaking news and like-minded conversation for the WWE Universe, giving WWE fans worldwide the chance to interact and engage with our larger-than-life WWE Superstars -- some of the most-followed athletes in the world on social media.

Also, WWE on Twitter provides video highlights from our programming, plus insightful features on our Superstars, historical look-backs at more than 50 years of WWE history, user-generated content contests and much more, making it a must-follow for any member of the WWE Universe worldwide.

WWE's complete Twitter network features more than 180 Twitter accounts, including one for every WWE and WWE NXT Superstar -- controlled personally by the talent themselves -- and 40 WWE-controlled accounts that cover TV programs, initiatives and sub-brands.

By offering the WWE Universe both a one-stop shop for diverse WWE content and breaking news, plus one-on-one channels to their favorite personalities, WWE creates an passionate army of social evangelists and enthusiasts who share WWE’s messaging globally.

WWE's Social Media Producers travel to every one of our 320 WWE Live Events and TV tapings worldwide, to help coach our WWE Superstars in Best Practices for Twitter, including proper verbiage. technique and etiquette for the social network. They also provide content ideas and assistance filming content when requested.

Using @WWE to lead online discussion on Twitter during WWE TV programming, we help focus, direct and increase social conversation through a variety of initiatives, helping make our shows a Social TV engagement leader every week, creating "second screen" storylines that transpire during the week and often during our programming's on-air proceedings.

In addition to @WWE, we feature the voice of the WWE Universe during Raw and SmackDown Live on @WWEUniverse, which focuses on retweeting fans' best comments on the night's action, their fan meme creations and more.

All of this Twitter conversation is collected by the WWE Social Media Team for sentiment analysis on every segment of WWE Raw and SmackDown Live, to provide information within hours to our show writers on what characters and storylines are resonating with our fans, and which ones are missing the mark.

TWITTER RESULTS FOR 2016

WWE has 155 million combined Twitter followers -- an annual increase of 29%

WWE's flagship Twitter account had 3.4 billion impressions in 2016, with more than 29 million engagements (clicks, likes, replies, or retweets).

WWE's most-followed Superstar is John Cena (@JohnCena), who has 8.9 million followers -- an annual increase of 19%

32 WWE Superstars have more than 1 million followers on Twitter.

WWE is the No. 4 most influential brand in the world on Twitter, and the No. 2 most influential sports brand (as measured by Klout). WWE is the No. 5 most followed sports brand, and the No. 39 most followed brand in the world.

WWE ON INSTAGRAM & SNAPCHAT

Of all of WWE's social platforms, Instagram has seen the most user growth in 2016.

WWE's network of company and Superstar-run Instagram accounts have seen 95% follower growth in 2016, now totaling a combined 96 million followers.

The goal of WWE's Instagram accounts is simple: provide a unique mix of candid photography from behind-the-scenes of WWE Live Events, as well as images from Superstars' travels around the world that captivates the WWE Universe's interest and imagination.

Along these lines, WWE's Instagram account has given our followers never-before-seen access behind WWE's biggest events of the year, including SummerSlam and WrestleMania. We also give an inside look into the training that goes on for WWE"s newest Superstars honing their craft at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla.

WWE has also become a top user of Instagram's Live Story feature, running 4-6 produced Live Story packages a month.

INSTAGRAM RESULTS FOR 2016

WWE and its Superstars have 96M combined followers on Instagram, an annual increase of 95.03%

The main WWE Instagram page has 11.2M followers. In December 2016, WWE had more than 29.8 million Instagram engagements with its followers.

The main WWE Instagram page has more followers than: UFC, Taco Bell, Gatorade, HBO, ESPN, NHL, MLB and NFL. WWE is the #2 most followed sports brand on Instagram behind only NBA.

Watch our Snapchat Story from WWE SummerSlam in August 2016 in Brooklyn, NY.

See the Snapchat Story from WWE WrestleMania 32.

John Cena has the largest Superstar followership of all WWE accounts on Instagram, at 5.7M followers.

SNAPCHAT ACTIVITY FOR 2016

Snickers, the official presenting partner of WrestleMania, was WWE’s first-ever Snapchat Live Story brand partner.

The Snapchat Live Story allowed WWE fans to share their stories from WWE’s annual pop culture extravaganza and dive into the live action of WrestleMania in more ways, and from more perspectives, than ever before.

Fans had the opportunity to contribute video and photo Snaps to one collective WrestleMania Live Story, which captures the real story of the event, straight from the fans, organizers, and everyone in between.

The Snaps submitted from WrestleMania were curated and packaged by Snapchat into a brief video that is available globally to Snapchat’s more than 100 million daily active users.

Additional WWE events have been covered via Snapchat Live Stories throughout the year, including SummerSlam and Survivor Series.

Take a tour of the brand-new WWE.com with an in-depth look at the fresh design and slew of new features.

THE NEW WWE.com WEBSITE

An ambitious overhaul that took more than 16 months from start-to-finish, WWE and Code & Theory worked in tandem seamlessly redesign WWE.com.

A wide-ranging slate of projects included entirely new front-end content feeds and landing page layouts, a complete reconstruction of the editorial content management system, and an immense data migration that involved more than 4,000 video playlists, among many other articles, photo galleries and more.

As part of the website redesign’s focus on video consumption, a best-in-class Video Explorer was built to live at the top of the screen, offering contextual video content – from both WWE.com and WWE Network – to every page the user visits. This easy-access leads to increased video views throughout the site, and allows users to continue to scroll down any page while continuing their video-watching experience simultaneously while other content is explored.

Most of all, WWE.com was built for the future of our digital landscape, with a mobile-first design that looks more vibrant and immersive on smartphones than it does on laptops.

WWE.COM RESULTS FOR 2016

For the third quarter of 2016, our primary website, WWE.com and WWE App averaged more than 17.6 million unique monthly visitors worldwide, 289 million page views and 25.3 million video streams per month combined.

WWE.com averages nearly 15.7 million monthly unique visitors worldwide with 206 million page views and more than 22.2 million video views per month.

More than 543 million WWE-related videos are watched monthly across WWE.com, the WWE App, YouTube (WWE channel) and Hulu.

THE WWE APP

The goal of the WWE App is twofold: to provide a best-in-class entertainment platform for more than 1.5 million WWE Network subscribers to watch 24/7-streaming, original programming, and to also deliver free, multimedia-rich content such as breaking news, video playlists and photo galleries, fed immediately from WWE.com right into the palm of the WWE Universe.

The WWE App delivers immersive multimedia content to both WWE Network subscribers and non-subscribers through a seamless dual-gateway with two distinct entry points. It’s easier than ever for fans to stay tapped into the pulse of the WWE Universe with an easy-to-use WWE App home screen for smartphones and tablets.

WWE APP RESULTS

The WWE App has been downloaded more than 28.2 million times, and more than 60 percent of downloads were from international users in 220 countries.

WWE Network reached a record of 1.52 million average paid subscribers over the second quarter of 2016, which represented a 25% increase from the second quarter of 2015.

More than 650 million videos views have been watched through the WWE App since its launch in July 2012.

In October 2016, there were 2.6 million WWE App users (non-WWE Network), with 97 million page views and 7.8 million total video views (also non-WWE Network).

Series and Highlights

Series and Highlights

WWE YOUTUBE ORIGINAL SERIES

In addition to highlight videos from WWE's popular television series, WWE Monday Night Raw, WWE SmackDown Live and WWE NXT, our Superstars are featured in a variety of weekly series seen only on our YouTube channel.

WEEKLY SIT-DOWN INTERVIEW

CANVAS 2 CANVAS

Explore the unexpected as artist Rob Schamberger brings WWE Superstars to life from the WWE in-ring canvas to his art canvas.

WWE FURY

Pick any devastating maneuver in WWE history, and enjoy the rush as WWE.com gives you 30 seconds of high-impact action.

SPECIAL EVENT PLAYLISTS

WWE on YouTube curates special packages of videos around momentous events. Above, the playlist shown details the secret arrival and debut of new WWE Superstar AJ Styles at Royal Rumble, complete with confidential interview given before his debut in the 30-man Royal Rumble Match.

WWE BACKSTAGE FALLOUT

Right after the TV cameras on WWE NXT, Raw, SmackDown and pay-per-view events fade to black, the Backstage Fallout cameras fire up, with exclusive interviews with WWE Superstars about the night's action.

WWE TOP 10

WWE.com chooses the Top 10 of almost anything in WWE history, from the best matches, moments, and Superstars, narrowing down to the best of the best.

BEHIND THE THEME

See how WWE's award-winning composer Jim Johnston creates iconic WWE Superstar themes. In this very popular series, Johnston has revealed the inspiration behind themes for The Rock, Triple H, Undertaker, Randy Orton and D-Generation X.

FIVE THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW...

Every week, host Kyle Edwards digs deep into the WWE archives to find the "Five Things" you didn't know about your favorite Superstars and events.

Network Videos

Network Videos

WWE NETWORK MULTIMEDIA

Below are sample promotions and clips from WWE Network programming.

To see these programs in full, visit WWE Network using the demo login account listed below.

WWE SPECIAL EVENTS: All of WWE's pay-per-view events are included in WWE Network subscriptions, including our biggest events: WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Royal Rumble.

KICKOFF SHOWS: Before each WWE Network Special Event, a panel of WWE Legends and Hall of Famers preview the night's event. This Kickoff broadcast is often streamed on Facebook Live and YouTube as well.

EXCLUSIVE LIVE EVENTS: WWE Network brings exclusive coverage of special Live Events, including shows from NYC's Madison Square Garden and Tokyo, Japan.

RAW AND SMACKDOWN LIVE PRE-SHOW: WWE Raw and SmackDown Live get a 30-minute headstart Monday and Tuesday nights on WWE Network, as Scott Stanford leads our Pre-Show Panel, as the WWE Universe gets the first glimpse of the night's matches coming up LIVE on USA Network.

TALKING SMACK: WWE SmackDown Live doesn't end on USA Network. Talking Smack, hosted by Renee Young and SmackDown GM Daniel Bryan interview the night's big winners and review controversial moments with the WWE Universe's live Twitter ticker injecting their thoughts.

SWERVED: Swerved, directed by Jeff Tremaine, is a half-hour series that combines the worlds of comedy and sports entertainment as WWE Superstars play hilarious pranks on the WWE Universe. The success of the WWE Network thus far illustrates the power of the WWE brand, showcases WWE’s potential to drive long-term growth and provide evidence that we are effectively executing our multi-platform content strategy.

LEGENDS WITH JBL: Host John Bradshaw Layfield speaks to WWE Legends and Hall of Famers in an intimate hour-long interview.

UNFILTERED WITH RENEE YOUNG: WWE commentator Renee Young sits down with the hottest actors and actresses in Hollywood, as well as WWE Superstars making waves in movies and TV.

THE WWE LIST: WWE Superstars count down their lists of the best and worst in WWE history, along with celebrities from comedy, TV and movies.

WWE NXT / NXT TAKEOVER: WWE's developmental brand's weekly show featuring the most exciting up-and-coming Superstars is exclusively on WWE Network, including four two-hour NXT TakeOver special events each year.

WWE CRUISERWEIGHT CLASSIC: The best wrestlers under 205 lbs. compete in a single-elimination, 10-week tournament to crown the best cruiserweight talent in the world.

CAMP WWE: The network launched Camp WWE in May. From WWE and Seth Green’s Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, the adult animated series centered on WWE Superstars and Legends when they were kids at a summer camp owned by Vince McMahon. The series pushed the boundaries and showed fans a side of WWE they’ve never seen.

HOLY FOLEY: When at home with his family of five, including wife Colette, sons Dewey, Mickey and Hughie, and daughter Noelle, WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley simply sees himself as a stand-up comedian and Santa-loving dad. However, unbeknownst to The Hardcore Legend, Noelle has decided she wants to follow in her father’s footsteps in the WWE ring and his oldest son Dewey recently landed his dream job as a writer’s assistant on the WWE creative team.

WWE Network's newest original series, Holy Foley, catches all the real-life antics and laugh-out-loud moments that unfold in the Foley household as cameras follow two generations of Foleys trying to make it in life, and at WWE.

WWE RIDE ALONG: WWE Superstars travel hundreds of miles together each weekend, traveling between Live Events. WWE Network's cameras came along to chronicle their travels and discussions.

Network Demo

Network Demo

WWE NETWORK DEMO

For your consideration, WWE has included a WWE Network demonstration login and password with our digital entry for you to try out WWE Network on the WWE App or your XBOX, PlayStation, Apple TV or Roku, to sample WWE Network's video streaming capabilities and quality for yourself.

About WWE

About WWE

ABOUT WWE

WWE, a publicly traded company (NYSE: WWE), is an integrated media organization and recognized leader in global entertainment. The company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience.

WWE is committed to family friendly entertainment on its television programming, pay-per-view, digital media and publishing platforms. WWE programming reaches more than 650 million homes worldwide in 25 languages. WWE Network, the first-ever 24/7 over-the-top premium network that includes all live pay-per-views, scheduled programming and a massive video-on-demand library, is currently available in more than 180 countries.

The company is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai, Munich and Tokyo.

Additional information on WWE (NYSE: WWE) can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global activities, go to http://www.wwe.com/worldwide/.